Hello Laura. It is nice to meet you! Tell us a bit about you where are you from and other than writing what else do you enjoy?

Hello, my name is Laura Hines. I am from Sequim, Washington, but currently living in Spokane for school, and a new life. I enjoy knitting, crocheting, writing stories, designing book covers, photography, and art.

How did you start writing? What was your inspiration to create?

I started writing when I was 14 years old, short stories, amateur stories, but as my hunger for reading and creating my own worlds grew, so did my writing. I just one day took up the computer and began to write. I don’t know what it was that inspired me. I guess I just felt I could write a better ending to a movie, and began to do just that.

Who is your favorite author, is there anyone out there that inspires you?

My favorite author is Jane Austen, but I also like Suzanne Collins, the writer of the Hunger Games Trilogy. Jane Austen is the one I pattern most of my romantic period stories. I do love Suzanne Collins because of the dystopian theme. Science fiction and fantasy are another one of my favorites.

What genre do you enjoy reading? What’s your favorite book and why?

Dystopian is my favorite, but I love period books, like westerns. Dystopian is my favorite because I enjoy people trying to defeat the evil that is trapping them in the world they are in.

How did publishing your first book change your process of writing?

I realized that someone would be reading it and they would be the critics, so I decided to take some classes on how to write an award-winning novel.

If you’ve published a series, what is the series about?

Have written a series, called the Survivor series, about a dystopian series, a young woman who learns she has a special gene that could save the fate of the current world as is, but the powers that be want to control the population.

What was it like creating back to back stories that link?

Easy as pie. I am a pantzer. I write by the seat of my pants. Just don’t outline or anything.

Have you ever thought about writing in a different genre? If you could, what genre would you like to dabble in?

I have written in several different genres already. Romantic, Mail Order Bride, Dystopian, Espionage, Spy

What has been your most proud moment as an author?

Just to have my siblings say, is there another book?

Was there ever a time you wanted to pick up your laptop, and then launch it out the window with frustration?

Nope, I just know that sometimes it’s hard to write. Taking breaks is the only way to let off the frustration.

Are you a “plotter” or a fly by the seat of your pants “pantster” as a writer?

Pantster. Fly by the seat of the pants. No structure or outline. I am not good at outlining.

Am I the only one who gets hung up on commas? Do they make you go blah! when you’re writing?

Commas are my favorite subject. I love to use them a lot. It’s hard to find a way to get the commas to change. 🙂

My third Mail order bride is Katie Tyree, from Scotland, who decides to take a treacherous trip across the Atlantic, to marry a man she thinks is a good man. After meeting him, she finds herself falling in love with the wrong man. My other book is called Possession, about an angel/demon child who discovers her destiny is to become the next mistress of Lucifer. But with the help of her aunt, her boyfriend, and a few other important people in her life, she fights and changes her destiny.

So… where can we get your books?

Amazon is the place you can get my books. The author names are Joanna Springer, Adriana Potter, Deborah West. I use a pseudonym for protection. And also because they are all different genres.

How would you define what being a successful writer means?

Just write write write. And Don’t let negative reviews get you down. Prove them wrong.

Does a big ego help or hurt writers?

Ego helps to a certain degree because it helps you with keeping your confidence up.

What kind of research do you do, and how long do you spend researching before beginning a book?

I research facts on google, or borrow books from the library, pertaining to the subject I am writing, photocopy and highlight it. I also have books for terms, romantic scenes and the like to help me write.

Do you read your book reviews? How do you deal with bad or good ones?

I am happy when I get a review, negative or not. It means people are reading and giving their honest opinion of my work.

What was your hardest scene to write?

Love scenes. I am a single woman so that the love scenes would be the hardest, but also death scenes too.

What’s your writing schedule like?

I write when I get an inspiring thought, and I keep a notebook in my backpack in case I get an idea or a thought.

What other authors are you friends with, and how do they help you become a better writer?

My mom is a writer, and I have a few friends who are writers too. We exchange books and give our opinions on the books, helping each other sharpen up our skills.

How do you go from an idea for a book to the birth of the story? Is the process the same for every book you write? How long does it take you to write a book?

I watch a movie or read a book, and if I don’t like the plot, I change it the way I want it.

How have your family and friends accepted your career as a writer? Are they supportive?

They build me up and tell me that I am a good writer. My siblings love my stories, and my mom edits and helps me promote. My grandmother loved my stories before she passed, so I dedicate my stories to her.

Do you tend to base your characters on real people or are they totally from your imagination?

Real people and some people are made up. Mostly the character is what I want to be when I feel a little inadequate about myself.

What was the inspiration for your latest work of fiction?

Hunger Games, Divergent, and Maze Runner. My Survivor stories are part of that genre.

Where would you like to travel to and why?

Ireland, because I have ancestors from Ireland, and I would like to see all the ancestors in the United States, who formed my life.

Tell us about how you develop your characters?

I have my idea of what a man should be like, strong, sexy, masculine, take charge, but respects their lover, treats her like she is her own person, straight, and the woman is a warrior, who can hold her own and doesn’t need a man to protect her but is an equal in desire and motivation.

Which one of your characters is your favorite and why?

My Emery and Gayle books, Cora is my favorite because she has to endure a lot. Her husband disappeared, and she has to run the ranch on her own, fending off suitors, and raising her child without him being there.

What would you like readers to know?

Just enjoy the books, and hopefully, they will find a message and get inspired in their own life.